Eastern Health CEO Vickie Kaminski insisted today the health authority was not trying to downplay errors in its biochemistry lab.
A family has revealed to the Opposition Liberals that their child is critically ill at the Janeway Hospital in St. John's after receiving too much of the drug cyclosporine.
A machine installed at Eastern Health in June 2009 to monitor levels of the drug was incorrectly calibrated and has been showing artificially low levels of cyclosporine. The misreading can result in patients being given too much of the drug which can cause kidney failure in incorrect doses. The drug is given to transplant patients to lower immunity and prevent rejection.
Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones said Wednesday the boy's radiologist told the family a lab error in tests resulted in the patient receiving a dangerous dose.
"(The family) felt both Eastern Health and the government were downplaying this particular issue, not communicating the real importance of what this meant to people and so it's very difficult for them today as they sit at the bedside of their son," Jones said Wednesday.
Kaminski spoke to reporters today and said she takes offence to the "insinuation" Eastern Health has been cavalier in dealing with the issue.
Kaminski apologized to the family again and acknowledged the child got too much of the drug which acerbated the child's already critically ill condition.
But Kaminski said it's coincidence that a day after the doctor met with the family to disclose the error, Eastern Health went public. She said the family was angry, but the decision had already been made to go public.
"They didn't force us into doing something we didn't want to do," Kaminski said.
She said the family insisted to Eastern Health as late as Wednesday night it wanted officials to respect their privacy and that's why details of the case were not revealed earlier.
When Eastern Health revealed the errors, in late February it did acknowledge there was an acutely ill patient in hospital.
Full coverage in Friday's print edition.
Eastern Health did not downplay errors in lab: Kaminski
Eastern Health CEO Vickie Kaminski addressed the media in St. Johns today. Photo by Keith Gosse/The Telegram
- Published on March 4th, 2010
- Published on July 1st, 2010
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Staff ~ The Telegram
Apologizes to family of critically ill child
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Comments
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- S.S. Minnow
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:30:27
We got something else to put on our Getting a past It List Why don't we just split up her salary in 3 or 4 ways and get a couple of people who knows what there at to run it and get their hands dirty. Its too much for one person to handle and too much money to be invested into one person. All we've seen from her are snotty letters about how they are going to get tough on smokers. Well let me tell ya, ye got bigger fish to fry first. I don't know what kind of a 5 star hospital she was running in upper canada but its kinda getting like the professor on Giligans Island... and its only to bad that we don't need a radio made out of a coconut.
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- Angelica
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:24:32
D*mned if you do, d*mned if you don't.
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- member of the 20%
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:22:58
Sounds like another Vickie spin to me; trained well by the Tory spin doctors she's beholding to and indebted to. Wait for Jerome to weigh in with more lies, its coming. I think on this one, Little Man Dan was right...line 'em up!
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- Stanny
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:20:28
Ms Kaminski ,keep up the good work and ignore the naysayers. Hope you are there long enough to clean up the mess left by years of incompetence.
Hope Danny will see fit in the next budget to give some more staff to the labs, nursing section, etc. When there is enough staff in place to oversee some of those lab checks, we can complain.
TO minnow from Salty side: As for those idiot smokers, perhaps some teeth is needed in the law so they all can be moved to the Waterford area.
PS: trust some of you saw the CBC Hear and Now TV story a few nights back where the lame brain smokers were still outside getting their fix, with a 'no-smoking' sign overhead. Guess we can chaulk that up the 50% illiteracy in Nfld. -
- John
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:18:38
No one asked a question - John Ottenheimer, Cameron.
No one asked a question - Vicki Kaminski, today.
Oh god. Not again. -
- Nepo
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:15:26
I said it before and i will say it again. If that hospital stopped recycling the staff and nepotism is curtailed then that place will always have issues. By hiring your friends and then promoting them from within does not grow any facility. To truly grow, an organization needs to be open to new ideas, not status quo.
Bring in some new talent that will bring new ideas to the table. -
- Brenda
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:14:47
How does this keep happening in Newfoundland? Where is the lab accreditation? Why can't people do their job properly. It's ridiculous.
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- Steve
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:12:39
I think this is a BIG SHAME ON YOU HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. Now this Vickie Kaminski got the face to get up there and try and cover up their tracks.
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- S.S. Minnow
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:18:18
We got something else to put on our Getting a past It List Why don't we just split up her salary in 3 or 4 ways and get a couple of people who knows what there at to run it and get their hands dirty. Its too much for one person to handle and too much money to be invested into one person. All we've seen from her are snotty letters about how they are going to get tough on smokers. Well let me tell ya, ye got bigger fish to fry first. I don't know what kind of a 5 star hospital she was running in upper canada but its kinda getting like the professor on Giligans Island... and its only to bad that we don't need a radio made out of a coconut.
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- Angelica
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:10:17
D*mned if you do, d*mned if you don't.
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- member of the 20%
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:07:41
Sounds like another Vickie spin to me; trained well by the Tory spin doctors she's beholding to and indebted to. Wait for Jerome to weigh in with more lies, its coming. I think on this one, Little Man Dan was right...line 'em up!
-
- Stanny
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:03:15
Ms Kaminski ,keep up the good work and ignore the naysayers. Hope you are there long enough to clean up the mess left by years of incompetence.
Hope Danny will see fit in the next budget to give some more staff to the labs, nursing section, etc. When there is enough staff in place to oversee some of those lab checks, we can complain.
TO minnow from Salty side: As for those idiot smokers, perhaps some teeth is needed in the law so they all can be moved to the Waterford area.
PS: trust some of you saw the CBC Hear and Now TV story a few nights back where the lame brain smokers were still outside getting their fix, with a 'no-smoking' sign overhead. Guess we can chaulk that up the 50% illiteracy in Nfld. -
- John
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:00:08
No one asked a question - John Ottenheimer, Cameron.
No one asked a question - Vicki Kaminski, today.
Oh god. Not again. -
- Nepo
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:54:55
I said it before and i will say it again. If that hospital stopped recycling the staff and nepotism is curtailed then that place will always have issues. By hiring your friends and then promoting them from within does not grow any facility. To truly grow, an organization needs to be open to new ideas, not status quo.
Bring in some new talent that will bring new ideas to the table. -
- Brenda
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:53:54
How does this keep happening in Newfoundland? Where is the lab accreditation? Why can't people do their job properly. It's ridiculous.
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- Steve
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:50:02
I think this is a BIG SHAME ON YOU HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. Now this Vickie Kaminski got the face to get up there and try and cover up their tracks.
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